The present invention relates generally to a compressor system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an air/oil separator tank for use with an air compressor.
In many air compressor systems air is compressed in a compression chamber or airend of a compressor, for example, by a set of rotary screws, and a lubricant, such as oil, is injected into the compression chamber and mixes with the compressed air. The oil is generally injected into the compression chamber for a number of reasons including cooling the air compressor system, lubricating bearings, balancing axial forces and sealing the rotary screws. The oil must be removed from the stream of compressed air before the compressed air may be used downstream for pneumatic equipment and/or other tools.
In such air compressor systems, the compressed air and oil mixture discharged from the airend of the compressor typically flows with a high velocity into a separator tank where the air and oil of the air/oil mixture are caused to separate. The separator tank is usually cylindrical and the air/oil mixture is directed around an inner wall of a separation chamber. The combination of the centrifugal forces acting on the air/oil mixture and contact between the air/oil mixture and the inner wall of the separation chamber causes much of the oil to separate from the air/oil mixture, thereby allowing gravity to draw most of the oil downwardly into a lower portion of the separation chamber and also allowing the air to separate from the oil and flow upwardly into an upper portion of the separation chamber thereby achieving primary separation.
The compressed air, along with some fine oil droplets or mist entrained therein, then passes through a separator element placed within the upper portion of the separation chamber, thereby coalescing most of the remaining oil in the air stream to achieve secondary separation before the compressed air is transferred out of the separator tank. The coalesced oil pools in the bottom portion of the separator element and is returned to the airend of the compressor by a scavenging line.